Mourinho rages after loss

A seething Jose Mourinho invited scrutiny on the performance of referee Phil Dowd after witnessing his Chelsea side lose 5-3 at Tottenham in a result which wiped out their lead at the top of the Barclays Premier League.

Harry Kane scored twice as Spurs ended a 10-match winless run against the Blues, who now share the Premier League lead with a Manchester City side who have erased an eight-point deficit to Mourinho’s men.

The Chelsea manager complained of a “clear campaign” against his side following Sunday’s draw at Southampton, but escaped Football Association disciplinary action.

He again felt aggrieved by two decisions he felt went against his side and may now face FA censure.

The first was when Jan Vertonghen fell and brushed the ball with his hand after blocking Oscar and the second when Mourinho felt Eden Hazard had been hauled down by last man Federico Fazio.

Despite accepting Hazard’s version of events and that no foul had been made, Mourinho used the incident to highlight Dowd’s display.

Mourinho told BT Sport: “Hazard, honest as always, tells me in his opinion it was not a foul or a red card, so that’s good, in spite of Mr Dowd is too slow to go with that ball, he was like 40 yards away, he made the right decision.

“The decision (that) was like 10 metres away, he couldn’t make and that’s a decision that is the crucial moment of the game.”

That was a reference to the Vertonghen incident, which came when Chelsea led and Mourinho was unwilling to forget, even though many thought it incidental in a game where Chelsea conceded five goals.

Anthony Taylor booked Cesc Fabregas for a dive, rather than award a penalty at Southampton and Mourinho suggested two decisions in the last two games cost his side maximum points.

At the post-match media conference, Mourinho added: “With the result 1-0, one clear action could make it 2-0.

“Normally, at 2-0, the result would be completely different and the history of the game would be different. I’m more shocked with other things than to concede five goals.

“Where I am shocked is that, in three days, we had two incredible decisions that punished us in a very hard way.”

Mourinho feels Hazard is being kicked routinely and unfairly and needs protection.

“People in love with football in this country, people must be in love with Eden Hazard,” Mourinho said. “The way, match after match, he’s being punished by opponents and he’s not being protected by referees, maybe one day we won’t have Eden Hazard.

“It’s one, two, three, four, five, 10 aggressive fouls against him. They kick and kick and kick, and the kid resists. He’s a very honest guy in the way he plays, but that’s another problem.”

Tottenham’s victory will live long in the memory, but head coach Mauricio Pochettino is not getting carried away by his side’s astonishing start to the year.

The former Argentina international arrived in the summer on a long-term deal, although the first few months of the former Southampton manager’s reign have been bumpier than many predicted.

Things have at last began to improve, though, and Spurs extended their unbeaten Premier League run to a sixth match in some style against Chelsea.

“The most important thing today is to congratulate my players,” head coach Pochettino said. “It was a great day for us.

“There was a great atmosphere out on the pitch, and for our supporters to. It was a great victory. We deserved the victory and we were better than Chelsea.”

This was, though, just the second time a Jose Mourinho-led side had shipped five goals and the first time Pochettino had got the better of the Portuguese.

Much of the credit for this astonishing win will deservedly fall at the feet of Kane, who made it six goals in as many matches.

An England senior call-up appears par for the course, but Pochettino does not want too much pressure falling on the striker too soon.

“We need to be careful with him,” he said. “He’s still young, but it’s impossible to hide him because of his performances.

“It’s not my decision [whether he gets called up]. We try to help him improve every day and if the national team manager believes in him and wants to give him the opportunity… it’s not my decision.”